Karnataka Chief Minister Mr Siddaramaiah and KPCC President Dr G Parameshwar called on the Senior Congress Leader Mr Digvijaya Singh,who is also In-charge for Congress party affairs in Karnataka,in New Delhi on June-04.and also had a detailed Discussion on the ensuing elections to the upper house in the state.

The Embassy is happy to inform that a Non-Resident Indian Forum Karnataka has been established by the Government of Karnataka.

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka is the Chairman of this organization.

The key objectives of the organization are as follows:

(i) To encourage and promote all the activities those are in line with the interests of NRIs residing overseas;
(ii) To provide assistance to NRIs residing overseas in promoting literary and cultural activities of Karnataka, thus building a bonding
between the countries;
(iii) To promote, formulate and implement programs of interest to NRIs in the field of Education, Technology transfer, Science and Research;
(iv) To establish a platform of Skill Bank and Knowledge for the benefit of society; and
(v) To assist NRIs working overseas in moments of crisis in close coordination with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, New Delhi and respective Embassies.

The contact details of Non-Resident Indian Forum, Karnataka are as under:

The Non-resident Indians’ Forum, Karnataka, a government agency entrusted with the responsibility of helping
promote the interests of NRIs who invest in Karnataka, has written to the State government seeking representation
on government boards and corporations engaged in industrial development.

Speaking to The Hindu , forum vice-chairman V.C. Prakash said he had written to Additional Chief Secretary,
Department of Commerce and Industries, Ratnaprabha to appoint him as an ex-officio member of the State
High-level Clearance Committee and State-level Single Window Clearance Committee, both headed by Chief
Minister Siddaramaiah.

Mr. Prakash said he had also urged the department to appoint the vice-chairman as a member/director of
Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development
Corporation, and Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation. These measures would help the
forum push investment proposals accepted during the Global Investors Meets and encourage entrepreneurs to
establish their companies/units. He claimed that three senior officers in the department had failed to even respond
to his reminders on the matter.

The vice-chairman said he was meeting Mr. Siddaramaiah, who holds the industry portfolio, to request him to
convene a meeting of the forum next month to review its functioning. The members would request the government
to sanction a suitable site in the city to construct an NRI Bhavan. The bhavan would have an information centre
where investors could participate in discussions with officials. It would also have a library, eatery and a club. Their rievances would be heard and solutions would be found, he added.

Helpline

He said that a helpline on the lines of the ones set up in Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab would be started soon and NRIs
could register their complaints or grievances and requirements for setting up industries.
Meanwhile, he said the forum was receiving complaints about land mafia encroaching or occupying the NRIs’ land
and taking advantage of their absence. He sought a coordination committee comprising all agencies concerned to
discuss these issues.

Mr. Prakash said he had written to Home Minister K.J. George to set up a separate cell headed by a senior police
official to look into criminal cases filed by NRIs. Sources in the Home Department told The Hindu that the forum’s
letter had been sent to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) S.K. Pattanaiak.

Meanwhile, the investment facilitation centre abroad proposed by Mr. Siddaramaiah at London was yet to be
started, the sources said.